|
WORKERS
COMPENSATION Once upon
a time, in the greatest
nation in the world, the United States Congress passed the
"Occupational
Safety and Health Act of 1970", (or the OSHA act). It was a very , very
good law for the hard working people of this very great nation. It said: "...the
vast majority of American
workers, and their families, are dependant on workmen's (sic worker's)
compensation for their basic economic security in the event such worker
suffers
disabling injury in the course of their employment; and that the full
protection of American workers from job-related injury or death
requires an
adequate, prompt, and equitable system of workmen's compensation as
well as an
effective program of occupational health and safety regulation..." A short
time later , The American
Congress remarked: "In recent
years serious
questions have been raised concerning the fairness and adequacy of
present
workmen's compensation laws in light of the growth of the economy, the
changing
nature of the labor force, increases in medical knowledge, changes in
the
hazards associated with various types of employment, new technology
creating
new risks to health and safety, and increases in the general level of
wages and
the cost of living." Because of
these serious concerns,
the Congress established the National Commission on State Workmen's
Compensation Statutes to "undertake a comprehensive study and
evaluation
of State workmen's compensation laws in order to determine if such laws
provide
an adequate, prompt and equitable system of compensation." July 31,
1972,
was the date Congress decided upon for the transmittal of the report of
the
Commission to the President and Congress. The Commission was a large
un-unified
group, and no one truly expected them to complete the report on time
(as often
happens in large committees). But, lo and behold, to everyone's
surprise, the
report was completed and turned over right on time, and our tale
continues. The 1972
Commission concluded:
"...State workmen's compensation laws are, in general neither adequate
nor
equitable...Perhaps in another decade or two, an attractive alternative
to
workmen's compensation will emerge...For the foreseeable future we are
convinced that, if our recommendations for a modern workmen's
compensation
program are adopted, the program should be retained."
The
Congress, OSHA and the
Commission knew they had to conquer "The Main After
considering an immediate
complete federal takeover, after considering voluntary guidelines
followed by a
complete federal takeover in a few years if deficiencies are not
corrected
promptly, the Commission decided that the main barrier could be
overcome if :
The States were required to meet Now, you
might very well be asking,
"What are these Essential Elements" established by that great and
benevolent Commission , so very long ago and meant to be fully complied
with by
the date of THE
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS:
The
commission voted unanimously
that Congressional intervention may be needed to bring about reforms in
the
State systems. The threat of, or if necessary, the enactment of Federal
mandates will remove from each State the main barrier to effective
workmen's
compensation reform: The terrible irrational fear that compensation
costs may
drive employers to move away to States where protection for disabled
workers is
inadequate but less expensive. The Commission, on a Keeping in
mind, that this
Commission mandated total compliance by the States by the date of July
1, 1975,
you the reader must have concluded that this Fairy Tale had to have a
happy
ending as do all good Fairy Tale's. Sadly, I must inform you that THIS
Fairy
Tale has NO happy ending. As of this
date, July 1, 2001,
almost 26 years to the day that this mandate was supposed to have been
complied
with, NOT EVEN ONE STATE OUT OF 50 HAS COMPLIED WITH THE ESSENTIAL
ELEMENTS! In
fact, not even one State out of 50 has even come close to compliance! The truth
of the matter is that, in
the intervening 26 years since this mandate was proclaimed, the
individual
State Worker's Compensation Systems have further deteriorated to such a
devastating degree that they are not even remotely as adequate as they
were
when the Commission decided they were inadequate enough to mandate The
Essential elements! An
American worker who becomes
injured under today's individual State Workers' Compensation Systems
has become
a victim of a holocaust, unequalled and unparalleled in American
history. We, the
Injured Workers of America
have waited twenty six years for Congressional intervention which was
promised
when the Essential Elements Mandate was proposed.
"VOICES"
is currently
looking for letters from injured workers with their name address and
phone
numbers to accompany this manifesto. They are working hard to help the
injured
worker so please consider helping them. VOICES INC. |
